Hair rollers

ABSTRACT

A hair roller has a brush and an internally supported tubular net component that is provided with shrunken filaments at its ends to retain the support in a proper position in the assembly. With heat shrinkable netting material, the filaments at the ends of the supported tubular component are heat shrunk and then followed with a water or air quench to ambient temperatures before the brush is inserted in the tubular net. Heating and quenching are accomplished with an apparatus having spaced heaters with associated quenching devices, and a carriage for conveying the internally supported tubular component through the heaters. The carriage is equipped with cam actuated holders for inverting the held items between heaters.

United States Patent Harry W. Meyer [72 Inventor Clearwater, Fla. 21App1.No. 750,683 22] Filed Mar. 13, 1968 Patented Mar. 2, 1971 Divisionof Ser. No. 426,169, Jan. 18, 1965, Pat. No. 3,434,193 [73] Assignee TheIndustrial Development Corporation Orlando, Fla.

I 54] HAIR ROLLERS 4 Claims, 10 Drawing Figs.

52 us. Cl 132/39 [51 Int. Cl. A45d 2/12 [50] Field ofSearch 132/39, 40

[5 6] References Cited I UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,518,667 8/1950 DeBoer132/39 3.126020 3/1964 Sidelman l32/39X til");

Primary ExaminerLouis G. Mancene Assistant Examiner-J. N. EskovitzAttorneys- Baldwin & Martin, Roger L. Martin and George H. BaldwinABSTRACT: A has roller his abrush and an internally supported tubularnet component that is provided with shrunken filaments at its ends toretain the support in a proper position in the assembly. With heatshrinkable netting material, the filaments at the ends of the'supportedtubular component are heat shrunk and then followed with a water or airquenchto ambient temperatures before the brush is inserted in thetubular net. Heating and quenching are accomplished with an apparatushaving spaced heaters with associated quenching devices, and a carriagefor conveying the internally supported tubular component'through theheaters. The carriage is equipped with cam actuated holders forinverting the held items between heaters.

PATENTED MAR 2:971

SHEET 1 OF 4 INVILNTUR.

HARRY W. MEYER PATENTEU MAR 2 |97| SHEET 2 [IF 4 INVENTOR. HARRY w.MEYER PATENTEUHAR 2mm 3.566885 sum 3 UF 4 INVENTOR.

HARRY W. MEYER PATENTED m 2197| 3,566 885 SHEET u 0F 4 INVENTOR.

HARRY W. MEYER HAIR ROLLERS CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION Thisapplication is a division of application Ser. No. 426,169, filedlan. 18,1965 and which has now matured into US. Pat. No. 3,434,193, granted onMar. 25, 1969.

This invention relates to hair rollers or curlers and to the manufacturethereof.

A general object is to provide hair rollers of improved structuraldesign, and to provide improvements in the manufacture of such rollers.

A more specific object is to provide improved hair rollers of the kindhaving a net component on which the hair wound by the user.

A particular object of the invention is to provide hair rollers of thekind having a net component and which are cheaper to manufacture,requiring less netting material,and, in addition, being more convenientand safer to use than other net-type hair rollers currently beingmarketed.

Yet another object in the invention is to provide net-type hair rollersof the kind having a brush component that is used for retaining the hairon the roller during use, the hair rollers being easier and less costlyto assemble during the manufacture thereof than other and moreconventional hair rollers of this kind.

A further object is to provide improvements in processes formanufacturing net-type hair rollers as well as to provide improvedapparatus for use in the manufacturing procedures.

One object is to provide a process of assembling the components ofnet-type hair rollers having a brush element and which avoids problemscommonly occuring as the elements are assembled because the brushcomponent becomes entangled with the net component.

A further objective of the invention is to provide a process forassembling collapsible net components and the support components ofnet-type hair rollers, and which provides a finished assembly in whichthe support component is less readily displaced from its supportingposition in the assembly than is the case with more conventionalnet-type rollers.

Another object of the invention is to provide apparatus forautomatically securing the support components of net-type hair rollersin the hollow or the net component.

A further objective is to provide apparatus that eliminates the need forhand labor in certain steps involved in manufacturing net-type haircurlers, and which provides a partially assembled roller that is moreconvenient and safer to manipulate by hand in further assembling thecomponents of the finished hair roller.

One of the more popular hair rollers used by women for curling theirhair has a tubular net component which is internally supported againstcollapsing during use by an elongated helical component, the helicalwire element being housed in the hollow of the net component. Thesupport component is retained in the hollow by tucking the opposite endsof the net component in the open ends of the helical member during themanufacturing process. These end tucks frequently become displacedduring subsequent steps involved in the manufacture of the rollers, aswell as when used by the ultimate user. They also fail to provide atight assembly that avoids movement of the components when the roller ismanipulated by the user. When the tucks become dislodged during themanufacturing process, excess labor is required to correct the situationand on occasions the workers have been known to injure their fingers incorrecting the situation. Not infrequently the user finds that the needarises to replace the tucks, and when this happens, it occasionallyoccurs that the user engages the end of the wire component used informing the helical support member and similar injury results to thefinger.

In addition most of the net-type hair rollers also contain a brushcomponent which is lodged in the hollow of the assembled net and supportcomponent. During the manufacture of the roller, the brush is placed inthe assembly after the net and support components have been assembled.This creates a problem in the manufacture of the roller when the net andsupport are retained in position by end tucks for frequently the brushbristles become entangled in the net and pull out one or more or thetucks. This of course requires considerable labor and time to correctthe situation, and among the objectives of the invention is to provideprocess, apparatus and structural design features that avoid oreliminate one or more of the mentioned objections or problems.

It has been found that by shrinking the end portions of the tubular netcomponent after the support component has been inserted in the hollow ofthe net that the support component is better and more permanentlysecured in its proper place in the assembled roller. The need forreinserting the tucks when they become loosened is avoided and, from amanufacturing point of view, less netting material is required. In theshrinking process carried out during the manufacture of the improvedrollers, the end openings in the tubular net component are reduced insize due to the shrinkage of the filaments of the net at such openings,and the support component is trapped in the hollow of the net andthereby prevented from being dislodged or removed through the shrunkenend openings.

In general, it has been found that the net may be drawn into a tighterfitting relation on the support component by virtue of the process, thusproviding a tighter assembly which minimizes movement of the netrelative to the support component during use as compared to moreconventional net-type hair rollers. This makes the roller moreattractive the user because of the feeling of tightness realized uponmanipulation by the user. In addition, it has been found that less netmaterial is needed in manufacturing net-type hair rollers of comparablesizes currently being marketed when'the opposite ends of the net areshrunk to secure the support component in place.

Yet another advantage to the invention lies in the manufacturing processper se. It has been found, for example, that the problems that heretoforhave been encountered during the manufacturing process of assembling therollers, as when the brush component is housed in the partial assemblyand becomes entangled with net, are completely avoided when the supportcomponent and net component are secured in place by means of theshrinking process described hereinafter. ln effect, it has been foundthat if the support component is secured in the hollow of the net by aprocess of shrinking the ends of the net, that the brush component maythereafter be easily and efficiently inserted in the partially assembledroller without dislodging the net component through entanglement withthe brush bristles.

The novel features which are believed to be characteristic of thisinvention are set forth with particularity in the appended claims. Theinvention, itself, however, both as to its organization and method ofoperation, together with further objects and advantages thereof, maybest be understood by reference to the following description taken inconnection with the accompanying drawings, in which:

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of an assembled hair roller or curlerembodying certain concepts of the invention;

FIG. 2 is a plan view of an apparatus that may be used in carrying outthe shrinking process in accord with certain aspects of the invention;

FIG. 3 is a rear side elevational view of the apparatus seen in FIG. 2;

FIG. 4 is an enlarged section view of a heating unit embodied in theapparatus seen in Flg. 2 and shows the general relation of the end of apartially assembled roller to the heating elements of the unit at onestage in the heating process, the view being taken at the feed end ofthe unit and generally along the lines M;

FIG. 5 is another enlarged section view through the heating unit seen inHQ. 2 and in FIG. 4 and shows the general relation of the end of anotherpartially assembled roller to the heating elements at a more advancedstage of shrinkage of the end, the view being one nearer the dischargeend of the unit and generally along the lines 5-5 of FIG. 2;

FIG. 6 is an enlarged side elevational view of one of the holders seenin FIGS. 2 and 3, the roller having been removed to better expose theparts of the holder and the view showing the holder in relation tocertain parts of the apparatus at the time the holder is being invertedso that the untreated end of the hair roller may be subjected to aheat-type shrinking step in the second heat treating unit of theapparatus;

FIG. 7 is a section view along the lines 7-7 of FIG. 6;

FIG. 8 is a face view of a component of a retainer mechanism shown inFIG. 7 and which is used to restrict rotary movement of certain parts ofthe holder, the view being taken generally along the lines 8-8 thereinto show the relation of the component to certain adjacent structure inone assembled holder;

FIG. 9 is a rear elevational view of a fragment of a cam wheel and aspring component of the retainer seen in FIG. 7, together with adjacentstructure as seen generally along the lines 9-9 of FIG. 7; and

FIG. 10 is a perspective view of certain parts of the apparatus at thedischarge station for the heat treated elements as seen more or lessalong the lines 10-10 in FIG. 2.

With reference to FIG. 1, an assembled hair roller embodying certainconcepts of the invention is designated at 10. It has an elongatedhollow tubular net component 11 which is supported internally againstcollapse by an elongated cylindrical component 12. Component 12 isformed from an elongated wire element 13 which has been wound in theshape of a helix. The convolutions 14 of component 12 are generallyspaced apart in the hollow 15 of the net component 11 and they supportthe cylindrical meshed wall portion 16 of the net component againstcollapse into the hollow.

The opposite end portions 17 of the net component 11 have been shrunkenby the shrinking process referred to hereinafter and partially close theend openings 18 into the hollow 19 of the support component. In theirshrunken condition they form annular flanges which project radiallyinwardly at the opposite ends of wall portion 16 and restrict axialmovement of the support component 12 as well as protect or shield theend extremities 20 of the wire element 13 from practical direct contactby the user.

In the process of shrinking the end portions 17, the flexible filaments21 contract linearly and deform the end portions. As such, the size ofthe end openings 18 into the hollow 15 is diminished and the supportcomponent is trapped in place. The hair is wound on the exterior surface22 of the meshed wall portion 16 by the user and is maintained in placeby a cylindrical brush component 23 that is housed in the hollow 19 ofthe helical component. The bristles 24 of the brush are secured betweentwisted wire elements 25 arranged along the axis of the brush, and thebristles 24 project radially thereof in the assembled roller 10. Theends 26 of the bristles 24 extend between the convolutions 14 andthrough the meshes 27 in the wall surface 22, and the hair is kept inplace on the roller surface through entanglement with the outwardlyextending bristle lends 26.

The filaments 21 of the net may be made from any material which may beshrunk by a suitable shrinking process during the process or assemblingthe components in accord with the broader concepts of the invention.Preferably, however, filaments of synthetic plastic material that willshrink when heated to elevated temperatures are used in the constructionof the tubular net component. Synthetic plastic material such as thepolyallomers marketed by the Eastman Kodak Company under the trade markTenite." as well as those marketed by the E. I. DuPont de Nemour Companyunder the trade mark Vexar" have been found eminently suitable materialsfor use as filaments of the tubular net components. These materials havebeen found in filament form to permit the filaments to shrink anddecrease in length when subjected to temperatures at which the materialsbecome more or less semitluid and tacky.

In the preferred process of assembling hair rollers embodying netcomponents made from heat shrinkable filaments of synthetic plasticmaterial, the support component is first inserted in one of the openends of the net component and lodged in the hollow thereof between theopposite end portions of the net. Thereafter, the filaments of the endportions are subjected to a heat treatment that decreases the lengths ofthe filaments and causes the end portions to shrink. The shrinkingprocess diminishes the sizes of the end openings in the net and thustraps the support element in place. The filaments tend to become tackyand semifiuid at the elevated temperatures to which they are subjectedduring the heat treatment step and hence it is preferable to rapidlycool the end portions immediately after their heat treatment. This canbe accomplished by spraying a fine mist of water or other cooling liquidon the heat treated ends so as to quench the ends and rapidly cool thefilaments to ambient temperatures. Thereafter, the brush component canbe inserted through one of the openings of diminished size in the netand housed in the body of the roller without dislodging the assembledcomponents.

The process of the invention will become more apparent fromconsideration of the apparatus shown in FIGS. 2-10 and which is adaptedto automatically heat treat the opposite ends of the net components ofthe partially assembled rollers fed thereto.

With reference to FIGS. 2 and 3, the heat treating apparatus isgenerally designated at 30 and includes a pair of elongated arcuatetunnellike heating units 31 and 32 and a carriage mechanism 33. Thepartially assembled rollers 34 are hand fed to individual holders 35therefor from a feed station designated at 36, and are automaticallydischarged from the carriage after the heat treatment at a dischargestation 38 by means of a device designated at 37. Mechanism 33 isadapted to carry the partially assembled rollers 34 along a path 39 thatexposes the opposite ends of the net components to a heat treatmentwhich is carried out successively in units 31 and 32. The heating unitsw1 and 32 are arranged on the same side of the path traversed by therollers, and hence means 40 that cooperates with certain components ofthe holders is provided for inverting the assemblies between the units31 and 32. In this way, one end of the partially assembled roller heldby each holder is treated in unit 31 and the opposite end is treated inunit 32. i

The principal parts of the apparatus 30 are supported on a framework 41that includes four inclined posts 42 which are rigidly interconnected atthe bottom by a fiat horizontal plate 43. The upper ends of the postsare fixed and held in spaced relation by another "rigid plate element44. A horizontal support plate 45 is connected to the posts in thecenter of the framework for supporting a gear mechanism 46. A variablespeed electric motor 47 is mounted on plate 43 of the frame and theinput shaft 49 of the mechanism 46 is driven by motor 47 by means of abelt connection 48. The output shaft 50 of the gear mechanism extendsvertically through a centrally located opening therefor in plate 44,whereas the belt connection between motor 47 and mechanism 46 isslightly offset from the rear edge of plate 45. Motor 47, through gearmechanism 46, serves to continuously drive an annular or ring component51 of the carriage 33 about the axis of shaft 50 and in the direction ofarrow 39 when the apparatus is in operation. Ring component 51 consistsof a narrow metal element which has been bent in the shape of a circleand the opposite ends butt welded together. Ring 51 is supported abovethe base portion 52 of the framework 41 on shaft 50 through fourelongated members 53 which are welded at their outer ends to the insideface of the ring. Members 53 extend more or less radially of the rotaryaxis of component 51 and are fixed at their inner ends between a flatcircular bottom plate 5 and a square plate 55. Plate 55 is spaced aboveplate 54 to accommodate the location of the inner ends of the members 53therebetween at the hub 56 of the wheellike structure. These inner endsare somewhat offset from the axis of the shaft 56} as seen in FIG. 2 toprovide structural strength in the wheellike structure. The upper end 58of shaft 50 is threaded in centrally located openings in plates 54 and55. A portion of the upper end 58 of shaft 530 projects above plate 55and engages a nut 57 that is fixed to the upper surface of plate 55coaxially with the threaded openings in the plates 54 and 55therebetween. At this point, the wheellike structure is keyed forrotation by and about the vertical axis of shaft 50 by key 59.

The holders 35 are spaced from each other along the out side of the ring51, and the structure of the individual holders is best seen in FIG. 6-9by reference to that of holder 60. Holder 60. is seen in FIG. 6 and 7with the partially assembled roller element removed and with thelongitudinal axis of the clamp components 67 of the holder in thehorizontal position it assumes at the halfway point in being invertedbetween the heating units through contact made with certain fixedelements of mechanism 40. This position is also illustrated in FIGS. 2and 3.

The assembled holder 60 is connected at the outer face 61 of the ring 51by a round headed bolt 62 which is threaded in a suitable openingtherefor in the ring. The bolt 62 is secured in place by a nut 63 andlockwasher 64 located at the inner face 65 of the ring 51. Ring 51 isstrengthened at the opening by a square metal plate element 66 whichiswelded to the outer face of the ring and in which the bolt is alsothreaded.

The clamp 67 of holder 60 has a rectangular back plate 70 which is fixedto the front face of a cam wheel components 72 of holder 60. Theopposite end portions 68 and 69 of plate 70 are provided with spacedprongs 28 and 29 which are integrally connected to the back portion 70and made from spring steel so as to yield when a partially assembledroller is fed to the clamp 67 at the feed station. Prongs 28 and 29 areadapted to grasp the partially assembledrollers at the opposite ends ofthe housedsupport component and extend outwardly from the back plate 70.The axis of the clamp 67 is arranged transversely of bolt element 62 andthe prongs are arranged to hold the roller elements with itslongitudinal axis extending transversely of the axis of rotation of theholder. The prongs 2d and 29 are further adapted and arranged to holdthe roller element in a position which is offset from the face of theback plate so as to enable the roller to be removed from the clamp 67 bydevice 37. Plate 70 is fixed to the front face 71 of the cam wheel 72and the openings in plate 70 and wheel 72 for bolt 62 are such as toenable these elements to be rotated together about the bolt stem 73 whenthe cams encounter the fixed elements 74 and 75 of mechanism 40.

During the operation of the apparatus 10, the prongs 28 and 29 of clamp67 are normally aligned vertically in the assembled holder 60 so thatthe longitudinal axis of the partially assembled roller is also arrangedvertically during the passage of the roller through the heating units.Between units 31 and 32, however, the holders are caused to rotate 180to invert the prongs and the roller elements held thereby so as to placethe untreated net ends of the rollers subjected to the heat treatmentstep in unit 31 in an upright vertically extending position forsubsequent heat treatment in unit 32. During the process of invertingthe holder 60, the cam wheel 72 of the holder engages two fixed elementsin succession and each element is so arranged as to cause the wheel torotate 90 upon engagement by the cam of the wheel 72 as the holderpasses the element.

Provision is also made for restricting rotary movement of the holderswhen the cams are disengaged from the elements 74 and '75 and thus forretaining the holders in the position assumed after such engagement.Thus, in addition to a cam wheel component, each of the assembledholders is also provided with a spring component that cooperates withthe cam wheel and is rotated thereby, as well as with another componentthat is secured to the ring and cooperates with the spring component inrestricting rotary movement of the holders.

The spring component of holder 60 is designated at 76 and best seen inFIGS. 7 and 9. it consists of an elongated flat rectangular member madeof spring steel and which is arcuate in shape. The concavity '7 7 of themember faces the back side 78 of the cam wheel 72 and the opposite ends79 of the member are provided with return bends which bear against theback face of the wheel on opposite sides of the bolt stem and in anelongated groove 80 provided in the wheel face 78. An opening 83 isprovided between the opposite ends of the spring, for the free passageof bolt stem 73 through the member 76, and by virtue of the arrangement,the spring member 76 is engaged by the walls of the grove and caused torotate about the stem of the bolt when the cams engage the fixedelements 74 and 75.

Spring 76 is held under compression between the back face 78 of the camwheel and the front face 52 of component 83 in the assembled holder 60,Component 83 consists of a flat rectangular block which fits in amatching rectangular recess 84 in the front face of the metal plateelement 66. Block 83 has a central opening 85 through which the stem ofthe bolt extends as seen in FIGS. 7 and 9, and is provided with fourmore or less semispherical surface recesses 36 which are offset from theaxis of the bolt. These recesses 86 are spaced at intervals about theaxis thereof. Spring component 76 is provided with a pair of dents inthe face of the concavity and which provide spaced bulbular portions 87on opposite sides of the center opening in the back of the spring. Thesebulbular portions 87' are adapted to fit in the horizontally alignedrecesses seen in FIG. 8 when the axis of the clamp 67 and held rollerelement are vertically arranged and in the vertically aligned recessesseen in FIGS. 7 and 8 when the axis of the clamp and held roller arehorizontally arranged. When the clamp 67 is rotated to a new position byvirtue of the cam action, the spring 67 is also rotates. This-forces thebulbular portions 87 to ride out of the engaged recesses in face 82 andtherealong until they engage in the next recesses available in thedirection of rotary movement. Block 83 is preferably made from teflon orpolyethylene to provide a self-lubricated surface for the bulbularportions to bear against during rotation of cam wheel 72, although othersuitable materials may obviously be employed.

The cam wheel 72 of each holder is provided with four cam arms thatextend radially of the rotary axis of the wheel and the arms arearranged 90 apart. The cam surface 8? of each arm is inclined from thelongitudinal axis of the arm. When the arm is in position for the camsurface to engage one of the fixed elements 74 and 75, it extendsdownwardly and to the right, toward the leading edge of the holder, asseen in FIG. 9. in this position, the cam surface is vertically arrangedand aligned to engage the fixed element. Upon engaging the element, thecam wheel and clamp are rotated 90 in the direction of arrow 90 as thecarriage moves forward along the path and further rotation is restrictedby the spring mechanism, once the cam surface becomes disengaged fromthe element. During the cam action, the next arm of the cam wheel isdrawn down and placed in position to encounter the next fixed elementalong the circular path. Overall it requires two revolutions of the ringcomponent 51 in order to rotate the mm wheel and clamp 360.

The fixed elements 74, and 75 are elongated cylindrical members that areheld by set screws 91 and 92 in suitable holes in a bracket 93. Bracket93 is supported beneath the Ring 51 on the outer end of an elongatedtubular component 94 of the frame. The inner end of component 96 iswelded to the underside of plate 44. As the carriage moves along thecircular path, element 74 is the first element engaged by the cam wheelsof the holders. This engagement causes the holders to first rotate 90,thereby placing the held roller elements in a horizontally extendingposition, such as illustrated in FIGS. 1 and 2 by reference to holder60. Element 75 is spaced in advance of element 74 and is next to becontacted by the cam wheel of the holders as they move between units 31and 32. Upon such contact, the holder is again rotated another 90. Thiscompletes the inversion of the clamp and places the untreated endportion of the net in an upstanding position for subsequent heattreatment in unit 32.

The structure of the heating units 31 and 32 is similar and is bestillustrated by reference to FIGS. 3 and 5. Each unit has arcuate innerand outer sidewalls 96 and 97 which are spaced and rigidlyinterconnected by a flat arcuate top wall 98. These walls are coveredexteriorly with insulation designated at 99, and form an elongatedopen-bottom arcuate tunnellike structure which is more or less invertedU-shape in cross section.

Unit 31 has a pair of elongated electrical resistance heating elements100 and 1111 which are hung from the top wall of the unit on spacedhangers designated at 102. The elements are electrically connected inparallel in the circuit by end wires 103 and 104. Unit 31 is bolted tometal straps 105 which are fixed upright at the outer ends of spacedradially extending tubular components 106 of the framework. Components106 are welded to the underside of plate 44 and project outwardly to thestraps at the underside of the annular ring 51.

Unit 31 is arranged to cup the upper ends of the rollers between thesidewalls during their passage through the unit, and is supported on theframework in a manner such as to incline downward toward the ring 51from the feed end 107 to the discharge end 108 of the unit. This is bestillustrated in FIGS. 3 and wherein it will be seen that the space 109between the ends of the nets of the rollers depicted therein and theheating elements 100 and 101 remains about the same as the net endsshrink during the heating step and drawn down toward the end of thesupport element.

Unit 32 is similarly constructed and arraNged and is supported on framecomponents 110 which are similar to components 106. Like the elements100 and 101 of unit 31, the heating elements 111 and 112 of unit 32 areelectrically connected in parallel by end wires 113 and 114 in thecircuit. The heating elements of the respective units are connected inseries in the electrical circuit by an electrical element which connectswires 113 and 104. Wire 103 is connected to one side of an AC source ofelectricity wire 116 and wire 114 is connected to the outer side of thesource by wire 117.

Nozzles 120 and 121 are provided at the discharge ends of units 31 and32 for directing fine sprays of cooling water on the heat treated rollerends as they emerge from the units. These nozzles 124) and 121 aresupported on standards not shown, and are connected to a suitable sourceof fluid therefor.

The partially assembled rollers are delivered to the feed station 36 ona conveyor belt 122 seen in FIG. 2 and which is suitably supported in aposition for the operator of the apparatus 1G to hand feed the partiallyassembled rollers to the clamps as they pass in front of the belt.

The discharge station 38 has an inclined chute 123 which is adapted tocatch the rollers as they are dislodged from the clamps by dischargedevice 37. Chute 123 is suspended from a depending bracket 124 which isconnected to a tubular component of the frame. Component 125 isconnected to the underside of plate 44 and extends outwardly frombeneath the ring 51 as seen in FIG. 2.

The discharge device is also connected to bracket 124 and includes anelongated arm 126 that has an arcuately curved end 127. The curved end127 is arranged in the path of the elements held by the holders as theyemerge from the discharge end of heating unit 32. The curved end portion127 is adapted and arranged to extend between the vertically spacedprongs of the clamp and between the element held by the clamp and theface of the clamp back plate as the holder advances from the dischargeend of unit 32. As such, the elongated arm is engaged by the clampedroller and the roller is dislodged from the grip of the clamp as thecarriage mechanism moves the holder by the discharge device. Thedischarge device 37 has a wall component 128 that is offset from theouter face of the arm 126 and which is also connected at one end tobracket 124. Wall 128 serves to deflect the dislodged roller into thefeed end 129 of the chute suspended therebelow. Thereafter, the rollerpasses beneath the wall as it falls down the chute.

The operation of the apparatus is believed evident from the previousdisclosure. Briefly, however, the empty holders 35 of the carriagemechanism enter the feed station 36 area of the apparatus with theprongs of the clamps aligned vertically.

The partially assembled roller elements are hand fed to the emptyholders thereat at this point in the operation of the apparatus, theclamps hold the partially assembled rollers in a manner such that one ofthe end portions of the end component extends upright, whereas the otherend portion extend downwardly. As each holder is thereafter conveyedinto the feed end of unit 31, the upright net end portion is radiantlyheated and ultimately in the unit 31 to a temperature at which thefilaments of the end portion start to shrink. This heat treatmentcontinues as the end of the roller passes through unit 31. As the rolleremerges from the discharge end of unit 31, the shrunken net end portionis rapidly cooled to ambient temperatures through contact with the sprayfrom nozzle 120. Thereafter the cam wheel of the holder encounters thefixed elements 74 and 75 and this inverts the clamp and roller element.In this inverted position, the untreated end portion of the netcomponent extends upwardly and in a position to thereafter be subjectedto the heat shrinking process accorded the element in unit 32. The heattreatment step carried out in unit 32 is like that carried out in unit31 and upon emerging from the discharge end of the unit 32, the shrunkennet end portion is similarly cooled to ambient temperature throughcontact with the spray from nozzle 121. Thereafter, the roller isdislodged from the holder by device 37 and is discharged from theapparatus via chute 123.

While only a certain preferred embodiment of the invention has beenshown and described by way of illustration, many modifications will, ofcourse, occur to those skilled in the art and it is therefore desiredthat it be understood that it is intended in the appended claims tocover all such modifications as fall within the true spirit and scope ofthe invention.

I claim:

1. In a hair roller whichincludes an elongated hollow tubular netcomponent comprising flexible filaments and having an internal supportedcylindrical wall portion which has opposite ends and on which hair iswound by the roller user, and an elongated wall portion supportingcomponent which is housed in the hollow of the net component and thereinarranged to support the wall portion against collapse into the hollowwhen hair is wound on the wall portion, the improvement where said netcomponent has an annular flange forming meshed end portion whichprojects radially inwardly from said cylindrical wall portion toward thelongitudinal axis of the cylindrical wall portion at one of saidopposite ends to restrict axial movement of said supporting component inthe hollow of said net component, said meshed end portion comprisingshrunken lengths of said filaments.

2. The improvement in a hair roller in accord with claim 1 where saidfilaments are adapted to shrink at elevated temperatures and consist ofsynthetic plastic material.

3. The improvement in a hair roller in accord with claim 1 where saidsupporting component comprises a helically wound wire element havingopposite end convolutions, and where said meshed end portion is disposedto shield one of said end convolutions from finger contact by he user ofthe roller.

4. The improvement in a hair roller in accord with claim 1 where saidroller comprises a brush element disposed in the hollow of said netcomponent, and where said supporting component comprises a helicallywound wire element having spaced convolutions contacting the interiorsurface of said wall portion to support the wall portion against saidcollapse, said brush element having bristles extending between saidspaced convolutions and through the meshes in said wall portion.

1. In a hair roller which includes an elongated hollow tubular netcomponent comprising flexible filaments and having an internal supportedcylindrical wall portion which has opposite ends and on which hair iswound by the roller user, and an elongated wall portion supportingcomponent which is housed in the hollow of the net component and thereinarranged to support the wall portion against collapse into the hollowwhen hair is wound on the wall portion, the improvement where said netcomponent has an annular flange forming meshed end portion whichprojects radially inwardly from said cylindrical wall portion toward thelongitudinal axis of the cylindrical wall portion at one of saidopposite ends to restrict axial movement of said supporting component inthe hollow of said net component, said meshed end portion comprisingshrunken lengths of said filaments.
 2. The improvement in a hair rollerin accord with claim 1 where said filaments are adapted to shrink atelevated temperatures and consist of synthetic plastic material.
 3. Theimprovement in a hair roller in accord with claim 1 where saidsupporting component comprises a helically wound wire element havingopposite end convolutions, and where said meshed end portion is disposedto shield one of said end convolutions from finger contact by he user ofthe roller.
 4. The improvement in a hair roller in accord with claim 1where said roller comprises a brush element disposed in the hollow ofsaid net component, and where said supporting component comprises ahelically wound wire element having spaced convolutions contacting theinterior surface of said wall portion to support the wall portionagainst said collapse, said brush element having bristles extendingbetween said spaced convolutions and through the meshes in said wallportion.